The Dirty Dozen: 12 Female Serial Killers Executed in the USA – 1816-2002

Of the twelve American serial killers (3 or more victims) who have been executed between 1816 and 2002 only six have had their biographies published (nine if we count two rare pamphlets –  one about Mary Runkle and one about Martha Grinder – and the fictionalized story in the 2007 novel about Elizabeth Reed).

False claims about Wuronos being a “first” – “the first American female serial killer,” “the first American female serial killer to be executed,” “the first high profile American female serial killer case” – continue to be made regularly.

It may seem unreasonably harsh to say, but the fact is that those writers who continue to make these and other false claims about the mythical “rarity” of female serial killers are liars. We must treat them as liars, even when they might merely be exemplars extreme mental laziness, there is no justification for their behavior just because they made not the slightest effort to research the facts. Of course, in may cases these fraudulent claims are deliberately deceptive, the product of identity politics propagandizing.

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Here are 13 American female serial killer cases (1816 - 2002) which resulted in the execution of the murderess:

1)   1816 – Rachel Clark – Carlysle, Pennsylvania, USA

~ 6 victims:

• Mr. Caruthers

• Mrs. Caruthers

• Caruthers son 1

• Caruthers son 2

• Caruthers daughter 1

• Caruthers daughter 2

~ Executed: 1816 – Carlisle, Pennsylvania

2)  1845 – Elizabeth “Betsey” Reed – Heathsville, Illinois (residence)

~ 6 suspected murders attributed to Reed:

• nephew

• Leonard Reed, husband

• 2 other persons

• 2 children

~ Executed: May 23, 1845, Lawrenceville, Illinois, hanged

3)   1847 – Mary Runkle – Whitesboro, Oneida County, New York

~ 5 suspected victims:

• a peddlar

• Mary Margaret Runkle, age 6, drowned

• Cornelius Runkle, age 3,  drowned

• son (age?)

• John Runkle, husband

~ Executed: November 9, 1847 – Whitesboro, Oneida County, New York – hanged

4)  1866 – Martha Grinder – Pittsburgh, Pa.

~ 6 suspected murders attributed to Grinder:

• Mrs. Caroline Mary Carruthers (sister of Mrs. J. M. Johnston)

• Jane R. Buchanan

• Samuel Grinder (her brother-in-law)

• A little child, left to her care

• Her own child

• Mrs. J. M. Johnston (sister of Mrs. Caroline Mary Carruthers)

~ Executed: Jan. 19, 1866, Pittsburgh, Pa.,  hanged

5)  1889 – Sarah Whiteling – Philadelphia, Pa.

~ 3 suspected murders attributed to Whiteling:

• John Whiteling, 38, died March 20, 1888

• Bertha Whiteling, 9, died April 25, 1888

• Willie Whiteling, 2, died May 26, 1888

~ Executed: Jun. 25, 1889, Sarah Whiteling, Philadelphia, Pa., hanged

6)  1934 – Anna Marie Hahn – Columbus, Ohio

~ 5 suspected murders attributed to Whiteling:

• Ernst Kohler, died on May 6, 1933

• Albert Parker, 72

• Jacob Wagner, 78, died on June 3, 1937

• George Gsellman, 67, died July 6, 1937

• Georg Obendoerfer, died on August 1, 1937

~ Executed: Dec. 7, 1934, Columbus, Ohio, electric chair, Ohio Penitentiary

7)  1936 – Mary Frances Creighton – Ossining, New York

~ 4 suspected murders attributed to Creighton:

• Mrs. Anna Creighton, mother-in-law, died. Dec. 1, 1920, tied and acquitted; confessed

• Walter J. Creighton, father-in-law, 1923, not confessed

• Charles Raymond Avery, 18, brother, 1933, tried and acquitted; confessed (John C., husband as accomplice)

• Ada Applegate, died Sep. 27, 1935, confessed

~ Executed: Jul. 16, 1936, Ossining, New York – electric chair, Sing Sing Prison

8)  1947 – Louise Preslar Peete – San Quentin, California Prison

~ 4? suspected murders attributed to Peete:

• Jacob C. Denton, common-law husband, 1920; tried and convicted

• Co-worker, circa 1938

• Emily Dwight Latham

• Margaret Logan

~ Executed: Apr. 11, 1947, San Quentin, California, gas chamber, San Quentin State Prison

9)  1951 – Martha Beck – Ossining, New York

~ 3 murders attributed to Martha Beck & Raymond Fernandez:

• Janet Fay, 66, died 1949

• Delphine Downing, 22, died 1949

• Rainelle Downing, 2, died 1949

Raymond suspected of 1 murder before meeting Martha

Other victims likely were intended by the couple

~ Executed: Mar. 8, 1951, Ossining, New York – electric chair, Sing Sing prison

10)  1957 – Rhonda Belle Martin – Montgomery, Alabama

~ 8 suspected murders attributed to Martin (plus 1 survivor):

• George Garrett, 2^nd husband, died in 1939; confessed

• Claude Carroll Martin, 4^th husband, 1951; confessed

• Emogene Garrett, 3, daughter, died 1937; confessed

• Anna Carolyn Garrett, 6, daughter, died 1940; confessed

• Ellyn Elizabeth Garrett, 11, daughter died 1943; confessed

• Mrs. Mary Frances Gibbon, mother, died 1944; confessed

• Ronald Martin, 6^th husband, survived poisoning, but made paraplegic

• Judith Garrett, daughter, 1; denied murdering

• Mary Adelaide Garrett, 4; denied murdering

~ Executed: Oct. 11, 1957, Montgomery, Alabama – electric chair, Kilby Prison

11)  1984 – Velma Barfield – Raleigh, North Carolina

~ 7 murders attributed to Barfield:

• Thomas Burke, Velma’s husband, died Apr. 1969

• Jennings Barfield, Velma’s husband, died 1970

• Lillian Bullard, Velma’s mother, died 1974

• Montgomery Edwards, died 1976

• Dollie Edwards, died in 1976

• Lee's husband, John Henry, Velma’s husband, died Jun. 4, 1977

• Stuart Taylor, died Feb. 3, 1978

~ Executed: Nov. 12, 1984, Raleigh, North Carolina, lethal injection, Central Prison

12)  1998 – Judias Welty Buenoano – Starke, Florida

~ 4 murders attributed to Buenoano

• James Goodyear, husband, died 1971

• Bobby Joe Morris, common-law husband, died Jan. 1978

• Michael Goodyear, son, died 1980

• John Gentry, fiancé, survived poisoning (Nov. 1982) bombing in 1983

~ Executed: Mar. 30, 1998, Starke, Florida, electrocuted

13) Aileen Wuornos – Starke, Florida

~ 7 murders attributed to Wuornos:

• Richard Mallory, 51, died Dec. 1, 1989

• David Spears,  43, body found Jun. 1, 1990

• Charles Carskaddon, 40, May 31, 1990

• Peter Siems, 65, Jun. 1990 (body never found)

• Troy Burress, 50, Jul. 31, 1990

• Charles "Dick" Humphreys,  56, Sep. 11, 1990

• Walter Jeno Antonio, 62, Nov. 19, 1990 (body found)

~ Executed: Oct. 9, 2002, Starke, Florida – lethal injection, Florida State Prison

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Here are two cases of women who murdered two persons (on separate occasions) who were executed:

1846 – Elizabeth Van Valkenburgh – Fulton, New York

Suspected victims:

• First husband, Sep. 1833 (she denied murdering him)

• John Van Valkenburgh, second husband, 1845

~ Executed: Jan. 24, 1846, Fulton, New York, hanged

2000 – Betty Lou Beets – Huntsville, Texas

~ 2 murders attributed to Beets:

• Jimmy Don Beets, husband, Aug. 6, 1983 (date went “missing”)

• Doyle Wayne Barker, husband

~ Executed: Feb. 27, 2000, Huntsville, Texas, executed by lethal drugs, Huntsville Prison

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NOTES: More information is needed on the 1845 Reed case for it top be confirmed as a serial killer case.

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Yet Unknown History of Misandry already has posted many hundreds of cases (from a list which so far numbers 725, and is growing constantly)

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Also, for a complete roster, see: Female Serial Killers Executed

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Aileen Wuornos: America's 275th Female Serial Killer

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SEE MORE: Female Serial Killer Collections

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